'I'm a dream giver' - how Smith turned Warriors into winners

Franco Smith (holding the trophy, left) guided Glasgow Warriors to the URC title in his second season in charge

Franco Smith, champion coach of the United Rugby Championship, returned to his native South Africa for a holiday in the wake of Glasgow's stunning triumph against the Bulls in June.

A bit of sun, some golf, lots of family time. Oh, and a review of that dramatic final against the Bulls and a call to Tappe Henning, the league's head of referees, to query a few things that came up on the tape.

A questionable call at a breakdown? A penalty given in error? This was 'switching off', Franco style.

In truth, elite coaches never really switch off. And Smith is most definitely an elite coach. Two seasons at Glasgow have brought a European final in his first and a stunning URC triumph in his second. Now it is all about the third.

"What's the next challenge we've got to hit?" he asks.

It is a rhetorical question, but before he looks forward we ask him to look inwards and talk about his own personality and the things that drive him for a special episode of the Scottish Rugby Podcast.

It all goes back to family.

"I'm going to be emotional now," Smith, 52, begins, before talking about his grown-up kids and the brilliant times he had with them when they were younger and he was a player with time on his hands.

They live on a different continent to him now, and it can be hard, but these are sacrifices you make, he says.

"It was an opportunity for me to be in their lives," he recalls. "It's the benefit of being a rugby player. When you're off, you're off. So you can actually do something - teach them to play golf, do a bit of rafting, understand their hearts, put values in there.

"I can be confident that they know the difference between right and wrong. And that is the only thing I ask of them. I'm grateful for the time that I've already had with my kids and we will appreciate each other's company even more now."

'Mentality is most important thing'

Can Smith inspire Glasgow to even greater heights in his third season?

At his core, Smith is a people person. He understands what makes players tick. He has empathy and a softness that you do not see when he is in game-mode and is as intense as can be.

He preaches the importance of joy because he knows what it takes to get there. The long days, the brutal disappointments, the physical pain, the psychological uncertainty.

"You can be unhappy sometimes, but you must always have joy," he says. "That is what I hope I've established here. Sometimes when we're unhappy, that should be fuel to get the enjoyment back.

"I want the wives, the girlfriends, the partners and their children to cry with us, to have the enjoyment with us.

"We're not robots out here. My philosophy is you've got to give to get.

"I'm a dream giver. I want these men to be proper husbands for their wives and dads for their children and the only way is to get them to know our environment and to understand my heart and the coaching staff's heart.

"It's about the sense of belonging, sharing each other's values and influencing other people's lives."

That is a lot to take in, but every last player did precisely that because you do not do what Glasgow did last season unless you have the most remarkable spirit in your dressing room.

Smith inherited a battered squad with a demoralised mentality and has moulded them into a rugby machine, as happy to battle in the trenches in tight games as attacking with abandon in a runaway win.

Glasgow's adventure with ball in hand was well-known, but last season they became an attritional powerhouse to boot. How?

"What the South Africans brought to the URC was physicality and to match that is important," he says. "And that comes from a good mental space, good understanding of what a hard edge is.

"Compliments to the players for adapting, for understanding. You prepare people for the physical and the technical but in the end the mental preparation is the thing that is most important."

Smith has a saying - "iron sharpens iron". Good players toughen each other up. Standards rise.

When the international players are away, the ones who come in understand what is required. Smith went deep into his squad last season and got huge performances out of fringe players in big matches. Everyone felt a part of the ultimate triumph because everyone had contributed along the way.

And now for the next challenge.

"It's important that Glasgow Warriors become significant over a long period," he says. "We can't win it all, but we're gonna try. Good people make good players and that is a consistent philosophy that is followed by everybody that comes to the door."

Can they raise the bar?

"I believe so," he replies. "I think everybody else is going to, so for us to be at the business end of the competition we'll have to lift our standards again. We can definitely still improve."

If they can find another level they are going to be a thrill to watch all over again.